Witch Hunt
by Stormtide Leviathan
Summary: A new breed of Grimm has taken root in Remnant inducing madness and corruption. New hunters must join with the hunters of old if they have any hopes of fighting the beasts roaming the land and within themselves.
1. Making A Contract

Hunters and creatures of the night. New faces adorn each side, but the struggle remains the same. The collective of huntsman and huntresses pushing back against the relentless tide of chaos and destruction that is the Grimm. An unyielding enemy pitied against staunch warriors driven by faith, duty, promise of payment or/and perhaps...something else entirely. The hunt spares no one in its wake as for one to truly fight monsters one must understand them, and in doing so a hunter risks giving in to the madness of the Grimm and becoming a monster themselves. Such is the fate of being a hunter, for you will always hunt monsters as that is a hunter's solemn duty and promise to the world. Embrace the hunt and just think of this passing nightmare as all but a bad dream. It will be all over soon enough and only then may you rest.

* * *

"It'll be a regular journey to the East! Yeah, I like the sound of that." Sun boisterously exclaims while sitting upon the ship's guard railing.

Blake slowly blinks and continued to peer out into the vast ocean that's reflecting the dull light of the shattered moon above. With the Grimm defeated and a destination set for Menagerie, there was little to do besides bide her time and tolerate Sun's shining personality.

Blake and Sun look out across the ocean in shared silence for a bit longer until Blake removed her arms from the railing proclaiming, "I'm going to go to bed. Don't get caught alright. I doubt the crew would like finding a stowaway."

Sun hops down from the railing to voice his concern, "Wait, you aren't going to share your cabin with me?"

"I don't think I will. I did pay for it myself," explains Blake with a hint of irritation. It had been a stressful journey to make it this far and to listen more to Sun for the evening made her ears twitch ever so slightly.

"Fine fine, I can read a room. But, if you get lonely don't be afraid to find me in the decks below," Sun says with a wink, which managed to elicit a groan from Blake as the monkey Faunus scampered away to a door the lower storage decks.

"Time for me to turn in as well," Blake murmurs to herself as she began walking to her small quarters. The cabin provided her with a simplistic shelter with a bed, mirror, and some other basic amenities, but most of all it was a place where she could consider her next course of action. What to do against the White Fang. Against Adam.

Blake reached her cabin door with not a soul in sight as everyone had also retreated for the evening wanting to forget about the Grimm attack earlier in the day. Blake stands at her door for a brief moment to let out a deep sigh. She feels mentally drained from the further complication of Sun deciding to volunteer himself with her travels. Opening the cabin door with a quick swipe of her keycard Blake strides into the room to see the well-made bed, small open floor, and untouched wash area laid out before her.

Wanting to retire immediately Blake begins to walk into the cabin as the door slides shut behind her with hardly a sound. Though exhausted Blake's huntress' trained senses alarm her to something being amiss as her ears twitch.

Blake quickly draws Gambol Shroud from its sheath and points the blade at a figure clad in a black cloak with a strangely designed protrusion placed over their face while they lean their back casually against the corner of the near sidewall in the room. Blake narrows her eyes at the unmoving masked figure that hadn't even uncrossed its arms.

"Who are you and why are you in my room?" Blake angrily demands in hopes to rouse a reaction out of the intruder.

The masked intruder chuckles darkly for a moment before they lament, "Not too quick on the uptake are we dearie? I'd peg you for a 3rd year at best, now put away that weapon."

"Answer the question," Blake once again asks now with a more dangerous edge to her voice while tightening the grip on her signature weapon.

"I'm Eileen. A huntress, much like yourself." Eileen calmly replies, causing a deep sense of unease within Blake's gut that begins to form.

Blake's caution now gestating into fear asked, "Why are you here?"

"I can see you shaking in your boots. Unfettered by a few grisly beasts? A huntress must hunt, no?"

"What are you talking about?"

Eileen now moves for the first time since Blake had entered the room. Standing straight up it's apparent Eileen isn't remarkably tall or an imposing individual yet she gives off an air of danger with her lack of care for Blake's drawn blade.

"Beacon," Eileen said. Blake's breath hitched for a brief moment at the cloaked woman's declaration, and Eileen continued, "Tis a terrible thing to abandon one's duty in the thick of things, wouldn't you think?"

Now beginning to panic with the mysteriously informed stranger than snuck their way into her quarters Blake asks, "What do you want from me?"

"An answer. Us huntsman and huntresses scurry about looking for Grimm, and yet here I find a talented girl in the most unusual of places." Notes Eileen as she shrugs off her cloak to reveal a combat garment made of black padded leather topped off with a cloak of feathers. Eileen takes a step forward and continues, "Do you know what I am, girl?"

Blake, instinctively taking a step back and placing another hand upon the grip of Gambol Shourd replied in an unsure tone, "A huntress? You still haven't given me an answer as to what you want…"

"I am indeed a huntress, though I don't hunt Grimm like most," Eileen takes a deep breath with her pause and continues, "I hunt those who abandon their duty."

In a sudden flash of steel, Eileen's dual curved blades seem to slide out from each of her sleeves. In a desperate maneuver, Blake brings her blade to try and cleave the mysterious hunter. Swinging her blade down, Blake finds her blade blocked by one of Eileen's long daggers and is forced to jump back to avoid the old hunter's follow-through attack.

"You cannot win this fight, child. Forfeit your life, and you may yet find mercy," Eileen suggests, though Blake doesn't seem enthralled by the premise as she grits her teeth.

Without a response, the two huntresses crossed blades once more with Eileen parrying all of Blake's strikes while managing to disarm Blake of her sheath in the process. Blake looked around the confined room and decided to open the cabin door leading into the hallway. As she manages to quickly swipe her keycard to open the door Eileen delivers a crushing front kick to Blake's torse, sending the cat Faunus crashing into the cabin door across the narrow hallway.

Blake lets out a cough to help get her oxygen back and to try and assess her aura level as it had flared briefly when she made an impact with the cabin door. Blake turns to face her aggressor and immediately shifts her weight to slide into a back handspring as one of Eileen's wicked shaped daggers burrows itself a few inches into the door where Blake's head had been just a moment before.

"Not bad," mused Eileen as she walks out of Blake's cabin casually and removes her dagger from the wall, "But you're going to have to do better than that, kitten."

Blake's eyes narrow as her temper begins to boil over at the scathing Faunus comment from Eileen and growls in a rising volume, "Don't call me that!"

Eileen chuckles to herself as she reengages with the cat Faunus in melee combat, with Blake losing ground and trying to create more space for her acrobatics to avoid the enemy huntress's precise strikes and parries. Blake creates a shadow clone to distract Eileen to buy her some time to switch Gambol Shroud to its gun mode, though the clone is quickly dispelled by the sounds of a gunshot.

Looking past the dissipated clone Blake witnesses that Eileen had closed her blades together to transform them, and in her off-hand is now wielding a sleek looking revolver. Blake, in a panic, begins to spray from her weapon down the narrow hallway to riddle her opponent. Just as Blake believes she is getting the upper hand and distance away from her would-be assassin, she sees Eileen vanish into a vortex of mist and pass by her at a ridiculous speed.

With no time to spare Blake transforms Gambol Shroud back to its melee form to clash with Eileen's elongated blade that seems to appear from the mist along with its wielder. Eileen and Blake exchange a few more slashes as Blake continues to give ground to the more seasoned fighter.

"_I need to be careful, her semblance of turning into mist is extremely dangerous,"_ Blake thinks to herself as she scanned the hallway for another exit.

Not wanting to completely turn tail and run towards the exit which would expose her back to Eileen's revolver, Blake continues to work quickly backward as she is finding it difficult to parry the quick strikes from the beak-masked huntress. Just as Blake is sensing the staircase approaching she decided to take a risk and bolt up the stairs and to use a clone as cover.

Blake releases her clone to distract Eileen for the crucial moment to turn around into a sprint, though it is met with immediate pain and is sent flying down the stairs as the sound of another revolver shot echoes through the ship. With Blake still airborne, she tries to twist her body to soften her landing, but she quickly sees the quick movement of mist below her and Eileen materializes at the bottom of the staircase awaiting her prey.

Eileen parries Blake's desperate slash with Gambol Shroud, and in one smooth motion holsters her pistol and separates her blades into the two daggers that Blake had seen at the start of the fight. Blake's eyes go wide with fear as Eileen delivers a nasty two-pronged thrust to the cat Faunus sending her violently back into the stairs completed by the sound of shattering glass and a brief glimmer over her body signifying that her aura had reached its limit.

Panicked and in pain from the flurry that had just taken place, Blake looks up to her assailant and asked, "Are you going to kill me now?"

Eileen remains motionless for what seems like a lifetime to Blake until she finally mutters, "No, I don't think I will. You show promise."

Expecting blade at her throat, Blake instead finds a hand from Eileen awaiting her. Blake looks up in confusion at the opposing huntress she asks, "Why?"

"Without fear in our hearts, the aura in our veins, and friends at our backs we are little different from the Grimm."

Blake remains silent and motionless as a few of the ship's crew members begin to make their way down the staircase and one of them shouts, "What's going on down there?"

"Huntsman business, leave us," Eileen instructs as she sheathes her weapons and pulls out her scroll to show her official status, which shows she is indeed an active huntress hailing from Vale.

"R-right, of course! We shall let the captain know and ease the passengers," One of the crew members prattles out as they leave the lower deck to Blake and Eileen.

Eileen watches the crew members leave before returning her attention to Blake and tells her, "Listen closely. Your life is forfeit. As a Huntress of hunters, I claim you."

Eileen pulls Blake to her feet a bit gruffly and Blake asks, "What happens now? What am I to you? Just another Faunus to pawn off to someone?"

Eileen chuckles which draws out a look of fury on Blake's face. Eileen waves her hand in front of Blake to dismiss her accusations and snaps, "No, silly child. You are a huntress in training and lacking a team, allies, a home, and a purpose. I eavesdropped on you and your blonde friend earlier. You are mine now, and I will show you what it means to be a huntress. Know that my work bears no glory that many other huntsmen seek, but it is important all the same."

Blake slumps down a bit as Eileen makes her point and asks, "Okay. What are your plans?"

"To Menagerie of course. That is where my mark lies in wait. The hunt is always on, but for now, this evening calls for some rest," Eileen decides as she begins to lead Blake back to her cabin quarters.

Blake remains silent as she tries to wrap her head around the quick turnaround of circumstances that had just taken place. Where just an hour ago her biggest worry was about going home and dealing with the White Fang, she now finds herself in perhaps a worse predicament with a strange huntress that seems to hunt down rogue huntsman.

"Here we are, get some rest. I'll explain more tomorrow," Eileen instructs as Blake flashes her keycard to open up the door. As Blake is one step into her cabin she hears Eileen remark, "And dearie, please don't think you can run away from me. I make a living tracking down huntsman. Just a small reminder. Sweet dreams, Blake."

Blake turns around curiously whispering, "I never told you my name before," to which Eileen leans in and whispers back, "I know."

The door shuts as the two separate and Blake moves to sit on her bed to try and shake the feeling of shock. Blake knows the woman's skill was undeniable with how she breezed through her defenses and how she couldn't manage to even land a hit on the evasive Eileen.

"_Perhaps this is how I can become stronger," _Blake muses to herself as she settles into bed with Gambol Shroud nearby.

Down the hallway, Eileen is walking back to her room with a smile hidden underneath her mask. It had been a few weeks since she had sprung into action like she had tonight, but without a doubt, she knew she was slowing down.

"_I'm getting too old for this, the damn kid almost had me a few times," _Eileen thinks to herself as she finds her cabin. Eileen always knew her age would eventually catch up to her, especially in the dangerous line of work she has committed herself to.

"This will be the last one," Eileen comments to herself as the door slides open and she walks in. The older lady begins to set aside her gear on the floor and take off her gear. Figuring she had instilled enough fear into the young Blake, she doesn't believe a follow-up fight will be necessary, unlike with some of her former apprentices.

Taking off her mask and armored leather top to reveal black feathers growing out of her arms paired with a weary aged face matched with mostly grey hair with only a few streaks of black left as reminders of distant youth. Eileen settles into bed and begins to plan her next move and how to lure out her prey that lies on Menagerie.

* * *

**A/N: Hello readers! Just here to announce a little project I'm wanting to kickstart while writing my main fic, so here I am seeing what the audience here is for the fandom and if people would be into this kind of story as I had an itch to practice writing a combat scene and practice my third-person POV. Anyways, just testing the waters since I'm a _huge _fan of Bloodborne (and all FromSoft games if I'm being honest) and I really like the world of RWBY, so I figured a smattering of the two would fit nicely. Also, I didn't want to include 'The Hunter' as they are just a blank player avatar, and I'm looking to expand on pre-existing characters. **

**For those that are curious to when this happens, it's right at the end of Season 4 Episode 3 when Blake and Sun take down that water-dragon-serpent Grimm...thing. **

**Anyways, I hope this was fun to read and if people are craving more I'll definitely flesh this out more. **

**Have a good day! **


	2. First Night

**Blake**

"Rise and shine, huntress."

Blakes eyes open in a panic as the sound of an older female's voice permeates the cabin room. The sun hadn't risen yet from the darkness that envelopes the room. She instinctively reaches around her bed for Gambol Shroud but feels nothing except the hard mattress and thing sheets.

_I knew I left it near me,_ Blake thinks to herself.

"We haven't all morning, dearie. Our stop is nearly here."

_That voice again, _Blake muses to herself as her groggy brain begins to put the pieces of last nights clash back together. She fought and lost to a huntress. Eileen was her name.

Blake shifts her body to an upright position to get a view of the room and with her adaptive Faunus eyes, she spots Eileen dressed in her black huntress garb with her beak-like mask obscuring her entire face and head. In Eileen's hands, she sees her holding Gambol Shroud as if appraising it's worth by tilting it to observe it's features better.

"That's my weapon," Blake states as she throws off the cover, though a dull pain wracks her left forearm as she maneuvers herself.

Eileen makes no comment or movements as Blake glances at her aching forearm and can't help but widen her eyes and gasp. Gingerly, with her other hand, she traces the new brand that has appeared on her inner forearm. The brand follows a line with three prongs with a dot in the middle of the inward-facing prongs.

_How did I not feel this? _She wondered as Eileen reiterates, "Get a move on, girl. We haven't much time to waste. I'll explain more on the way."

Blake looks up to her new captor asking, "What did you do?"

Eileen chuckles in a tone that causes the hair on Blake's neck to stiffen. "It's a brand. The marking of a Huntress of Hunters. We all bear them, and I should point out you sleep rather soundly for a huntress. That's good, considering the work we will be doing together."

Blake plants her bare feet on the cold steel floor and starts to put on her jacket and shoes. She could have sworn that she was more perceptive than this; to allow a stranger to mark her in such a demeaning way. The way Eileen's mask stares at her fills is unnerving at best, and downright sinister at worst.

"So," Blake continues to dress herself while keeping a close eye on the elder huntress. "What is _your_ plan. Kuo Kuana is a few days away still."

"I have a mark. He was last seen in a small village on the peninsula of Menagerie, tending to a priory. He is a devout huntsman to the gods," Eileen pauses for a moment. "But something has gone wrong. All communications have ceased in the past couple of months."

Blake nods and asks, "What about Sun?"

While she may not have amorous feelings for the monkey Faunus, she wouldn't want any harm from Eileen to befall him. Having him along would also ease Blake's nerves a bit with a strange huntress controlling her actions.

Eileen tosses Blake her weapon which she sheathes quickly. Eileen lets out a sigh, "He will be fine, but you mustn't worry about him. You have a different path than him. Now come, I have a lifeboat prepared. We've dallied enough."

Eileen opens the door to the hallway and beckon Blake to follow her with a wave of her hand. Blake takes in a deep breath before following the avian huntress into the dim corridor. The lights are barely functional as they make their way up to the top deck where the brisk ocean wind pelts both of them upon ascension. Blake's hands instinctively want to move and cover her chilly ears, but she clenches her fists in defiance.

_I can't show weakness. Not here and not to her, _Blake ruminates as the pair tread carefully on the dark deck. Blake can barely make out the slightest sliver of sun poking above the horizon as Eileen leads her to the lifeboat rack on the side of the boat. Luckily, the Grimm from before managed to not damage the pully system entirely as Eileen activates it for a boat to ready for the descent.

Eileen turns to Blake informing, "Get in. It won't be until midday until we hit land."

Blake crosses her arms. She looks out across the sea, and then back to the empty deck. "Why not just wait until we formally arrive in Kua Kuana?"

"Because that would waste time," Eileen informs as she motions for Blake to get into the rowboat. "Now stop dawdling, and get in. I'll unhinge us once you do so we can get moving. You will have plenty of time at sea to ask those questions of yours."

Feeling the gap for arguing disappearing Blake sighs and enters the rickety boat. Blake hears an appreciative hum emanate from Eileen as she follows her into the boat and activate the drop system. The boat drops quickly and splashes into the ocean water violently as the larger boat continues to churn onward. Eileen hands Blake the paddles and instructs, "Row."

Blake huffs but complies as she begins to row. "Where are we going? We can't see land from this far out."

"There," Eileen points out in the distance, but even as Blake squints to see what Eileen is alluding to, she sees nothing but a dark ocean until the horizon.

Blake turns to Eileen with a skeptical look on her face. "There is nothing in that direction. The peninsula must be further East."

Eileen chuckles as Blake's rowing grants them more distance from the larger watercraft. "I may be old, but my vision hasn't dulled. Keeping rowing that way."

Blake follows the elder huntress's orders and begins to propel the boat with Eileen's instruction. Blake and Eileen sit in silence with only the sounds of Blake's rowing serving as background noise for the two on the still ocean. Blake tries to maintain a cold impassive stare at Eileen, but looking more at her avian headwear adds to her nervousness.

The sun has crested over the horizon and Blake finally relents, "Okay, so what is this all about? Why me?"

"You have the skills. I saw you and that friend of yours take down that large seaborne Grimm. But also, I can sense you are aimless. Running away scared, like some lost child. And I am in the need of an apprentice. The Good Work doesn't do itself," Eileen explains as she puts up a boot on the edge of the boat.

Blake looks down with shame. "Am I that transparent?"

Eileen sighs and replies, "Only to the trained eye."

Blake pauses. "Where are you from. How do you know me?"

Eileen gestures towards Blake. "From Beacon. I was once a student there myself, and I was looking through the directory for an apprentice. Beacon fell on my way back, so I decided to track you down." Eileen pauses as Blake's expression lights up in confusion and curiosity, "You went to Beacon? And you have been looking for me for months?"

"I found you a day before you departed for Menagerie. I've kept an eye on you ever since," Eileen admits as she places her arms behind her head and leans back. Blake huffs in annoyance as she can feel her arms beginning to become sore from all the rowing.

Blake gives a few last strong rows before resting her arms and focusing back on the relaxed Eileen. "You followed me for that long? We've been on the boat for weeks…" Dejected Blake looks off to the side of the boat as Eileen repositions herself and replies, "Don't be so dreary, girl. It's my job to hunt the hunter. I'd be rather poor at my job if an academy student could spot me, no?"

Blake returns her gaze to Eileen and nods. "I suppose so. What's the village we are going to?"

"A small place called Oedon. Have you heard of it?" Eileen asks with mirth.

Blake shakes her head. "It sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't say I've been there."

"Most people haven't heard of it. It has no port nor anything amazing about the place, but it is where our mark lies in wait, or at least answers do." Eileen notes.

Silence washes over the two once more as Blake begins to row for what feels like hours. Eileen's posture appears relaxed to Blake, but as she continues to look at the huntress she can see the facade. The lax pose is given away by her hand placed neatly on top of her wickedly curved blade.

_Still always at the ready,_ Blake thinks to herself. The anxiety of being kept on a short leash like a caged animal sparks a new question for her mysterious new mentor.

Blake sets the oars down after pushing in a few more strokes. She looks inquisitively at Eileen asking, "What do you think of the White Fang?"

"Indifferent." Eileen snap responds to which Blake's mouth opens yet no words come out immediately. Blake closes her eyes for a second to recompose herself. "How can you be indifferent to them?"

"They don't concern my work. I care little for politics, only for my duty," Eileen coldly responds as she gestures to the oars, "Keep rowing. We are making good progress."

Blake frowns. "Why don't you care? It affects everyone. It affects-"

"You? Me? Tell me, girl, does my opinion on a group of angry Faunus really matter? I'll answer that for you. It doesn't." Eileen pauses as she rubs her legs. "It's just the way the world is. Take solace in your new duty. Now row."

Frustrated, Blake narrows her eyes and looks away. She picks up the oars once again to move the boat once again. Hours pass as Blake feels resentment towards Eileen for her detached answers. Not feeling any strong feelings on the White Fang? Blake shakes her head at the strange sentiment, but also she lingers on the words of the Avian masked huntress. Huntresses and Huntsman are supposed to fight the Grimm and not be militarized, but also they are supposed to fight for society as a whole too? Blake casts the errant thoughts aside and focuses on the next task ahead. Getting to Menagerie and investigating Oedon. It may not be her plan, but if what Eileen says is true then she knows turning a blind eye to the problems of Faunus on her homeland isn't something she can do.

The sun is a bit past the apex of its path when Eileen speaks up. "We've arrived. Turn the boat slightly left so we can place it between the rocks on the shore."

Blake begrudgingly complies as she follows Eileen's orders and looks over her shoulder. The shore itself is rocky and almost immediately turns into a thick forest. Blake looks back to see Eileen has stood up and jumps from the rowboat to the shore. Blake feels irritation budding up again as the masked woman patiently and quietly watches her bring in the rowboat.

_It wouldn't kill her to help at all, _Blake angrily muses to herself as she secures the boat by wedging a few rocks underneath it on the slanted rocky shore.

Blake finishes her work before walking over to the masked huntress proclaiming, "It's done."

"I see that. Let's traverse carefully. By my estimations, we can reach Oedon by nightfall." Eileen turns to lead the way into the dense foliage as Blake trails her asking, "Why wait so long? We could travel faster than just walking."

Eileen taps her head without turning around as she weaves her body past some branches. "Because we don't want to alert anybody. Grimm or huntsman. We will proceed slowly and methodically for any hints to what may have happened. Besides, the night will serve us better for investigating when people aren't outside."

Blake nods and concedes, 'That's...fair. Very well. You have also yet to tell me about who we are looking for."

Eileen skirts around another large bush replying, "His name is Gascoigne. Father Gascoigne. He moved his family out here a few years ago and is the lone huntsman in these parts. His old academy partner, Henrik, reported something strange awhile back and both have gone dark."

An unsettling and curt end to Eileen's sentence lingers at the forefront of Blake's mind. It sounded like the old huntress cared for the other hunters, or at least has sympathy for those she has to go and deal with.

"What do you expect to find?" Blake inquires to the old huntress who cryptically answers, "I don't know. But we will find out soon enough."

Blake follows Eileen through the woods carefully for hours. No signs of Grimm and scarce amount of wildlife are observable to Blake as they pass seamlessly through the underbrush. With only a brief break for lunch to eat some local berries and some bread that Eileen filched from the ferry, they eat silently as Eileen prompts no questions to Blake and she doesn't want to ask anything to her forced mentor. The tension is still taut in the air between the two, though it is difficult for Blake to discern how Eileen is feeling with that mask ever-present upon her face.

Lunch is followed by more walking through the difficult forest terrain until the sun begins setting. Blake is mostly unaffected thanks to her Faunus lineage, but she wonders about her mentor. While Eileen does wear the visage of an animal, she has yet to confirm or deny that she is a Faunus.

With curiosity bubbling up as dusk sets in Blake pipes up, "Eileen. Are you a Faunus by chance?"

Eileen continues her path through the forest without hesitation. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

Blake holds her breath for a moment to consider her next question carefully. "Why don't you care about the White Fang then?"

Eileen sighs. "This again? Thought we settled this little matter."

"Little matter?" Blake questions with a raised tone. " It matters because it's our people. It's what the humans have done to us. Why we live here on Menagerie in fear of humans. It's-"

"Enough. We're here," Eileen states as she pulls away from the last tree branch in the way to reveal the two have stepped into a small backyard garden. No lights are detectable to Blake as she follows Eileen through the quaint vegetable garden.

Eileen moves as if gliding across the ground as she moves up to the wooden cabin rear window. Blake peers over Eileen's shoulder and notices no lights are on, but a strange smell in the air lingers as she gets closer to the cabin.

"You smell that?" Eileen asks to her apprentice.

Blake nods. "Yes. What is that? It smells terrible."

"Sulfur and dust," Eileen explains as she points for Blake to circle the South end of the cabin while Eileen jumps up to the roof.

Blake slinks close to the walls of the house and peers around the corner towards the center of the small village. Only 12-14 small wooden buildings stand here, but what is interesting to Blake is no sound or light is coming from any of the buildings. No animals are running around either only adding to the ominous atmosphere.

_What happened here,_ Blake thinks to herself as she gets to the front of the cabin and looks into the bedroom window. The beds are empty and made as if awaiting an owner that suddenly vanished. Blake moves quickly to the next window to look into the main living room area and spots a dining room table set up with plates and mugs.

Blake goes to investigate the front door but notices that it's cracked open already. Carefully and slowly the door screeches a bit as she opens it up to the empty and dark abode. Blake places a hand on Gambol Shroud for assurance and to ready herself for any threats.

In a slightly crouched position, Blake makes her way to the dining room table to observe the setting. 3 plates set with a vegetable salad and chicken cutlet of some sort. Blake places her hand over the food and notices no heat coming off the meat. She places a finger on one of the chicken cuts and it's ice-cold to her touch.

_This has been here a while, _Blake muses as she looks around the small house a bit more, but nothing seems moved or out of place. No signs of struggle, no blood, and nothing besides a faint smell of sulfur and dust outside the building.

Blake shakes her head as she exits the house and notices Eileen leaning against the building to her right with her arms crossed. Eileen is looking in the direction of the town square as she asks, "What did you find?"

"It's empty. Food left on the table untouched." Blake elaborates as she gets closer to Eileen and asks in a worried tone, "What exactly happened here? There isn't even signs of Grimm attacking here. It's like everyone vanished."

Eileen groans and lifts herself from her leaning position. "It reeks of Gasgoine's semblance, which is worrying. He wouldn't have done something like this for no reason. Somethings gone wrong."

Eileen scatches at her chin with her hand as she hums lightly. Blake walks further out into the deserted town square and tries her best to look at the other houses. No signs of life or activity. Like this city had become a ghost town in a manner of seconds.

Blake turns around to face Eileen. "What is Gascoigne's semblance?"

"He can assert influence people. A helpful skill for a pious man to soothe worried civilians." Eileen states as she walks up beside Blake and points toward a building in the hills to the South, "We should head to the priory. We may get more answers up there. Let's tread carefully."

Blake nods in agreement and the duo begins to walk towards the priory. On their way, Blake asks, "What could have caused Gascoigne to do this? Is his semblance like mind control or something?"

Eileen chuckles. "Nothing so invasive. Gascoigne's ability lies in his power to make people calmer. Soothed. If he focuses hard enough he can sublimate an individual into a trance-like state from what I've heard, but those in Mistral would know more. He's an old Mistrali huntsman that was valued for his ability to calm civilians to help deter Grimm attacks, though his semblance loses power the farther you are away from him." Eileen pauses and continues, "And don't worry about yourself being under his influence. It's ineffective in combat if you have your aura still active or you have your wits about you."

_That's a relief,_ Blake comments to herself as Eileen and her crest the top of the hill to the religious building. The outside courtyard is gated, though the steel gates are wide open to the quiet building.

Eileen turns back to Blake with her index finger raised near her mouth and Blake nods in acknowledgment. Blake follows Eileen's lead as they slink up to the building and peer inside. Blake sees nothing through the dirty windows as she feels a tap on her shoulder, and sees Eileen motioning for Blake to follow her.

Following Eileen, Blake pauses as Eileen's hand motions for her to hold as they get to the corner and Eileen whispers, "Stay here."

Eileen walks off to which Blake peaks around the corner to see a large gated graveyard with a stone Mausoleum at the center with a lit torch outside of the building. The first signs of life in a ghost town are coming from the old graveyard. Blake shudders a bit as she watches Eileen cautiously enter the grassy cemetery looking around for clues.

Blake holds her position and watches Eileen stop suddenly as the door to the mausoleum opens to reveal a large man in black clothes, top hat, and white scarf exit the building holding a very large hand ax.

"Gascoigne!" Eileen shouts out to the figure who stops and looks at the old huntress of hunters.

_This can't be good, what has happened to all the people?_ Blake thinks to herself as she grips Gambol Shroud and bolts from her position to catch up to Eileen.

Eileen glances over her shoulder before returning her attention to the large huntsman in front of her. Blake feels a look of disapproval wash over her from Eileen's masked look but considering the lumbering man she could probably use back up. The man upon closer inspection is easily over 6 feet tall, well built, and...has his eyes covered in cloth.

_Now that's strange_, Blake thinks to herself as she finally comes up beside Eileen and here's the older huntress hiss, "Don't you ever listen to your elders?"

Before Blake can formulate a response the older man groans out, "Beasts. Beasts everywhere. You'll be one of them too...eventually."

He quickly brandishes his ax as he draws a large pistol from inside his coat pocket. A malicious grin adorns his face giving sight to an assortment of rotten teeth. Blake notes his heavy breathing made visible in the cold air and his slightly bent knees. He's winding up for an attack, and a powerful one by the looks of it.

Blake looks to Eileen once more for any guidance or advice and the old crow huntress chuckles darkly. "Welcome to The Hunt."

* * *

**A/N: Another small chapter for my little side project. Again, won't be consistent updates until I wrap up my other story. Still, messing around with the writing style of this fic. Here are some quick replies to reviews. Also, if I miss something in RWBy lore feel free to let me know as I'm not up to snuff on that as much as I am with Bloodborne. **

**Review Response: **

**Krionik: Thanks! **

**Guest: I have plans for that, rest assured. **

**Dracus66: Way too ambitious for me. Sorry. **

**Evinco: Who doesn't, right? **

**That's all, thanks for reading! **


	3. Gather Insight

**Blake**

The deranged huntsman's first few steps towards Blake and Eileen were slow. Through the dim light, Blake could nearly see his axe handle splintering from his tight grip. After a small pause to size each of his opponents up, Gasgoine fires buckshot towards Blake and lunges toward Eileen with his weapon held high.

Blake rolls to the side to avoid taking the damage to her aura as Eileen shifted into a mist to pass through Gascoigne's ruthless overhead attack harmlessly. Eileen reverts her form quickly after the slice has passed to deliver a few slashes from her Blades of Mercy, though the large lumbering huntsman manages to shoulder check Eileen, and knock her back a few feet.

_He may fight like a brute, but he's incredibly strong and agile, _Blake muses as she eyes the crater that Gascoigne's axe left in the ground. She'll have to avoid any strikes him if she wants to not lose most if not all her aura to one savage blow.

Eileen continues to evade the fast yet telegraphed strikes from Gascoigne, only to get a small follow up or forced to try a different angle due to the larger huntsman's physicality. Blake unwinds Gambol shroud and throws the ribbon to latch around the enemies' ankle. She gives it a mighty tug as Gascoigne tries to reposition to hit Eileen, yet growls as he moves slower than anticipated as Blake digs in her feet and skids across the ground a few feet.

Seeing the opening, Eileen fires off a shot into the deranged hunter's chest to soften his aura before scoring a few quick slashes to his arms. Enraged, Gascoigne yanks is tied up leg hard to knock Blake off balance and turns around to fire a shot with his old fashioned pistol. Shocked by the sudden wave of strength, Blake is pulled forward into the air towards Gascoigne.

_How strong is this guy?_ Blake thinks as a tightening feeling in her chest increases. Panicking slightly now that she's airborne and momentum is carrying her towards the maliciously grinning powerhouse, she tries to contort her agile body to stop herself but instead hears the loud bang of a firearm.

The shot, while a little off thanks to Blake's contortion, only manages to clip her in the shoulder. The force of the hit sends her backward and slamming against one of the many tombstones in the hard. Dazed, Blake shakes her head and tries to get her bearings as she lost about two-thirds of her aura to a single blast.

Just as Blake is lifting herself to face the enemy once again, she hears a cry of anguish. Not Human or Faunus, but something more primal. Looking back to Gascoigne and Eileen, Blake smirks a bit as she sees that Eileen managed to swipe her blades at the huntsman's shooting hand, and cleave through his aura and take a few fingers with her quick strike. Gascoigne howls as he reels backward with wild and inaccurate slashes from his axe, and in that chaos, Eileen dashes over to Blake.

"Still have some fight in you?" Eileen asks as she keeps her focus firmly on the writhing Gascoigne. Her calmness in such a hectic situation still baffles Blake a bit, but she disregards her idly feelings on the matter of the time being.

Nodding her head, Blake replies, "I can still go, though I doubt I'll be able to get hit by that monster again."

"Then don't get hit." Eileen cooly retorts back. "Now, c'mon. We've got a job to finish here."

Both huntresses narrow their eyes and rush forward in a burst of aura empowered speed. Gascoigne, while injured but not completely impaired, swings wildly with his transformed axe, now with a longer handle allowing him greater reach. Both women get to work in coordinating between the swipes to duck in for a stab with either Blake's Gambol Shroud or a few quick slashes from Eileen.

_Even with his aura broken, he fights with no regard for his safety, _Blake comments to herself as she ducks underneath another wicked slash. Eileen capitalizes with another slash against his abdomen before receiving a brutal front kick that staggers the crow huntress a bit.

Blake notices the man's malicious smile once more as he tries to follow up with a large overhead on her stunned mentor, so Blake tightens the grip on her weapon and lunges forward. Her lunging strike manages to catch the lumbering beast of a hunter off-guard as her sharp blade thrusts through his left armpit and manages to clip off a bit of his ear.

Howling in pain, the man drops his axe and spins violently, and in doing so Blake loses grip of her weapon that is still lodged firmly in the man. Blake hears a rapid-fire of gunshots from Eileen who has recovered from the body blow as she places a few well-aimed shots into the Gascoigne's bandaged face.

Gascoigne slumps onto his back, twitching, and wriggling as he does while Eileen walks up beside Blake and pats her on the back. Blake lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding in and exclaims, "Is that it?"

"We are about to find out," Eileen remarks as she quickly loads more bullets into her pistol. She gives Blake a single pat on the back, "Good strike, by the way. He'll bleed quickly from there."

Both women content with their exchange march forward towards the disfigured and brutalized Father Gascoigne. Blake glares at the man who is huffing and groaning loudly between two gravestones with Gambol Shroud still firmly lodged into his body. As the two carefully approach near the wounded hunter, Eileen holds out her hand and says, "Stop. Look closely.

Blake furrows her brow and observes Gascoigne more closely and notices a strange black fog starting to emanate from his body, but mostly from his mouth where he is wheezing.

_What is that? Perhaps an effect of his semblance? _Blake rapidly thinks to herself. The fog intensifies and Eileen roughly pulls Blake backward just as the large plume of black fog seems to explode out of Gascoigne.

"What is that?" Blake anxiously asks her mentor.

"Bad news," Eileen replies as she splits her Blades of Mercy into two daggers, and flips one to Blake. "I want that back when this is over."

Huffing in annoyance, Blake retorts, "I like my weapon more anyways."

Rolling the weapon around in her hand, Blake can't help but admit the craftsmanship of Eileen's weapon feels superb. Not something made in a factory with all it's little inlays and bevels, but also the bloodstains along the edge of the blade that reflect ever so slightly in the pale moonlight. A unique weapon designed for the most deadly of cutting and butchering of an enemy huntsman.

The black fog dissipates to reveal a horrid transmogrification of the burly huntsman. Putrid black mists pulsating from his lumbering hunched form that now resembles that of an Ursa more than a human or even Faunus. The bandaged wrappings that hid Gascoigne's eyes early now lay in tatters on the ground, with the bestial man's glowing red eyes only matched by the malice of his rictus grin that is poorly hiding his oversized canine teeth.

"What is he? Is this something to do with his semblance?" Blake asks Eileen as she readies her blade.

Eileen shakes her head. "No dearie. Something far more sinister. Be on your guard now. The real hunt has just begun," Eileen tilts her head toward Blake and says, "Now, follow my lead. We've a beast to put down."

Blake nods and springs into action right behind Eileen, as they both dash at the disfigured huntsman who lets out a roar bordering on the line between man and beast. The duo of huntresses each duck under the beast hunter's first vicious swipe and Eileen breaks right as Blake breaks to the left. Splitting Gascoigne's attention, each huntress uses their agility to chip away at his gnarled flesh while skirting around his large erratic attacks. While his attacks have increased in speed and destructive power, they are hugely telegraphed allowing the quick huntresses to pick their openings more carefully.

Sweat beading down Blake's face, she manages to dodge another vicious slash from Gascoigne, but much to her surprise he follows up with a charge. Stumbling backward, Blake trips up on the uneven cemetery ground and catches her fall by grabbing onto a nearby headstone, though Gascoigne is quickly approaching. Drained of most her aura, Blake focuses and creates a shadow clone in her place as she rolls to the side to avoid being trampled.

Gascoigne bulldozes through the headstone and disperses the clone with ease, though much to Blake's dismay he manages to stop his momentum rather easily and his glowing red eyes settle on the young huntress. _This isn't good! I'm completely out of tricks! _Blake thinks to herself as she anxiously watches Gasgoigne rear up for another charge.

Scrambling to her feet best she can, Blake's muscles ache overuse and exertion as she hears Gascoigne let out another vicious roar and the stomping of him quickly approaching her position. Blake's face pales as the monstrosity is nearly upon her, and she shields herself with her arms preparing for impact.

The impact never arrives as she peeks beyond her arms and sees Eileen's blade wedged into the bestial hunter's left eye. Gascoigne roars in pain and flails as Eileen comes behind Blake and pats her on the shoulder saying, "Good dodge, though you should stay on your feet next time." Eileen flips Blake the other part of her Blades of Mercy before taking a deep breath and asks, "Ready to end this? Aim for his other eye as I go in for the kill."

"Got it," Blake replies as Gascoigne begins to charge towards the pair.

Blake narrows her eyes and tries not to focus on her ragged breathing as Eileen holds her pistol at the ready and charges Gascoigne head-on. Steadying herself with one last calm breath, Blake hurls the Blade of Mercy and manages to make direct contact with Gascoigne's right eye just as he was about to maul Eileen. In the chaos, Eileen slips underneath Gascoigne's guard and fires her pistol directly into his lower jaw before turning into a mist to escape from getting crushed.

Gascoigne's large body collapses to the ground with a thud as Eileen collects her blades from the former huntsman's eyes and fires another shot into his skull for good measure. Blake hops up onto a nearby headstone to take a seat and catch her breath. _Is this really what Eileen has done? Hunting monsters in disguise like this? _Blake absentmindedly thinks as she watches Eileen calmly walk through the cemetery collect Gambol Shroud from the torso of Gascoigne.

Eileen walks back with Gambol Shroud in hand and hands it to her apprentice. "Well, we made it with our lives. That's all that matters now that the job is done."

"What was that? Why did he look like a Grimm at the end?" Blake asks as she accepts her weapon back, and stows it on her back.

Eileen tilts her head and shrugs. "Not sure to be honest. I knew something wasn't right, but this," Eileen pauses as she glances once more at the unmoving corpse of Gascoigne before looking back to Blake. "This was unusual. It smells of foul play. Something evil has taken root here in remnant…but let's not tarry here any longer. We must report what we've found."

Blake hops off the tombstone, her tired knees nearly buckle. Looking up she says, "So where do we go now?"

"An interesting conundrum to be sure, but we should head for Vacuo," Eileen remarks as she pulls out a small notebook and pen and scribbles something down that Blake can't quite make out.

"Why Vacuo?" Blake asks curiously as Eileen quickly tucks her journal and pen away, piquing Blakes's curiosity. "Also, what were you writing down?"

"Nothing of your concern," Eileen dismisses rather distantly. "But I have friends in Shade Academy and Vacuo that can help us figure out what may have happened here. The old academy headmaster should be able to answer some questions, or at the very least point us in the right direction, even if we don't see eye to eye. Huntsman turning into beasts is...troublesome."

"Who is this old headmaster?" Blake asks.

Rolling her shoulders out Eileen huffs, "His name is Willem. He's an old crotchety bastard, but his knowledge of Grimm is unparalleled. Also, he tends to be discreet, for better or for worse. He should be at his little college that's hidden in the wilds of northern Vacuo, a place called Byrgenworth."

Blake nods as she follows Eileen out of the graveyard. Increasing her pace to walk beside her aloof mentor, Blake asks, "So what else do we do here? The town is abandoned and destroyed. Shouldn't we alert the local Faunus on Menagerie?"

"We shall. We'll need to charter a boat out of Kuo Kuana as soon as possible," Eileen affirms as the pair begin to walk down the hill, away from the desolate priory.

The pair descend towards the empty town, though as they approach both abruptly stop as they see someone standing in the town square looking around frantically. Dressed in dirty yellowed leather garb, a weathered tricorn hat, and a wicked serrated cleaver in his left hand.

Eileen holds her hand up and whispers, "I think that's Gascoigne's partner, Henryk. Let's approach carefully."

"Will we have to fight him too?" Blake worriedly questions as she knows her aura levels haven't recovered much. "I'm not sure I can last another fight like the last one."

"With any luck, we won't have to fight. Maybe learn something," Eileen replies before playfully slapping Blake on the shoulder. "Now quit your trembling in your boots, a huntress mustn't show fear."

Blake follows Eileen's lead as they descend and walk into the central plaza of the village. Blake's hand hovers near the hilt of her weapon as Eileen's body language shows no fear or apprehension to the sudden visitor.

"Henryk, is that you?" Eileen calls out, her accent seeming a bit thicker than usual to Blake. "What brings ya to here?"

Blake furrows her brow as the man named 'Henryk' stops fidgeting with his hands and turns to look at her and Eileen, though his bloodshot eyes seem more focused on her than the crow huntress.

Henryk's hands seem to tremble slightly as his hoarse voice whistles through the wind as he addresses the duo, "Ahh, Eileen is that you? Been sometime. Something. Sometimes."

Eileen tilts her head to the side and sternly asks, "Are you feeling alright Henryk? It's a tad late out. You wouldn't happen to know what Gascoigne has been up to, would you?"

Blake frowns as the old hunter seems to twitch a bit as he replies in a breathy voice, "Gascoigne? He's...well enough I suppose, though he's been complaining about headaches," Henryk pauses as his gaze drifts up toward the empty sky. "So have I now that I think about it. A maddening itch in the back of my skull," The old hunter lets out a mirthless laugh," Damned thing just won't leave me alone."

"I don't think he's okay," Blake murmurs to Eileen as Henryk seems distracted amidst his thoughts. "I don't like this."

"You're right, but we need answers. Follow my lead," Eileen whispers back before saying, "Henryk, where did you say your head was giving you trouble? My apprentice here is top-notch with medical services?"

"You ever just look up at the sky and admire the moon?" Henryk says with a glazed over look in his bloodshot eyes. He shakes his head quickly and replies, "Err, what was I saying just now?"

Eileen takes a step forward. "Your head, Henryk. Where does it hurt?"

"Ah yes, it keeps itching and it's beginning to drive me _mad_," Henryk replies as he points to his left eye. "It feels like something is gnawing away at my very thoughts sometimes."

Eileen ushers Blake forward and says, "What do you see?"

Blake reluctantly steps forward and looks up at the slightly taller old huntsman. _He's much older than I thought, the hair under his cap is completely grey. _Blake muses as she looks into his glassy eye. Through his eye Blake sees nothing, but a faint flicker stirs a sense of unease. Something within his eye moved, like a tadpole or eel. Something is within the man.

Looking to Eileen with wide eyes and a strained face, Eileen nods and steps in front of Henryk and puts a hand on his shoulder. "What have you been up to this late, Henryk?"

"Well, now that I think about it-argh!" Henryk cries as Eileen quickly jabs the tip of her Blade of Mercy through his left eye. Henryk stumbles to the ground clutching his ruptured eye socket with one hand and his saw cleaver in the other shouting, "Have you gone mad woman?!"

"No, but you certainly would have," Eileen cooly retorts as she points to the long black worm impaled on the end of her blade. "Don't worry Henryk, you can thank me later."

"What _is _that?" Blake asks with a mix of horror and curiosity.

Eileen chuckles and produces a small corked bottle from her pocket, and slides the twitching black worm into the small bottle in a quick motion. Eileen turns to Blake and says, "A lead, girl. Prepare yourself for the worst, for I fear it has yet to come."

* * *

**A/N: Finally got out this little chapter! My other fic usually sucks most of my time up, so getting around to this fun story can be difficult (but not forgotten!) Hopefully the action was entertaining as the plot thickens :D**

**Review Response: **

**Marshman101: Oh I intend to. the Hunt is long. **

**Kristopher Blade: World Merging felt like the most fun. Stick around and find out. **

**Zaltynn: Glad you like it. I'll keep trying to capture each of the characters best I can in this bleak world :) **

**Until next time my fellow readers! Later! **


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